Month: August 2013

While drawing in a toned paper sketchbook, which she had carefully selected for its nice middle ground for adding highlights as well as darks, illustrator Mica Angela Henrdicks was reminded by her 4-year old daughter that kids always want to play with grown-ups’ toys.

She reluctantly acquiesced, and the 4-year old proceeded to “finish” a face her mother had drawn by adding a body, a dinosaur body, of course, which made it all the more perfect, and Hendricks was so impressed with the results that she began to do a series of faces, encouraging her daughter to add bodies, and then occasionally going back in with a bit of color in acrylics.

You can read Hendricks’ article about the series on her blog, and see more of them on her Society6 page. You can see Mica Angela Henrdicks’ professional work here.

Fans of the reality-bending fiction of Philip K. Dick, among whom I count myself, generally acknowledge the the best film made from his source material is Ridley Scott’s superb 1982 “future noir” thriller, Blade Runner.

One of the best features of that film was the art direction, cinematography and overall look and feel, much of which was due to designs by the brilliant visual futurist and concept artist, Syd Mead.

As I mentioned in my 2007 article on “The Drawing bench (horse)“, I’m fond of the arrangement provided by these usually simple benches that allow for a “sight-over” position when seated and drawing.

I say “usually simple”, because I got a kick out of comment recently posted to the article on this amazingly deluxe variation, apparently suitable for a Gilded Age drawing room. The manufacturer’s site, for the bench, which they call the “Unicorn LE” and describe as “a magical drawing & painting horse”. I’m not exactly sure about its specific magical properties, but it has a delightful tagline that reads: “Elegant enough for the living room and sturdy enough for the studio”. I suppose you could get matching ones for either side of the couch.

I had to chuckle a bit, as this is a far cry from the normal plain arrangement of three or four boards, even when factory bought rather than cobbled together from scrap lumber. I haven’t tried one, of course, but the padded seat and handy storage drawer look just dandy.

The website doesn’t list a price, suggesting you contact the company (display and graphics firm, Scale 2) for information, so maybe you have to hock your car and sign away hour first born to afford one, I don’t know.

Sure is pretty, though.

(Aside: I found out that the term “drawing room” as often used in Victorian times, has nothing to do with artists, but is rather a shortened version of “withdrawing room”, a room to which one withdraws after a meal for conversation and other diversions.)

In this seemingly casual but beautifully realized drawing of his wife relaxing with her dog, Greuze achieves a subtle portrayal of light and form — a reminder of the surprising versatility of the humble medium of ink and wash, which often shares characteristics of both drawing and painting.

Adam Paquette is an illustrator and gaming industry concept artist based in Melbourne, Australia. Among his clients are Wizarda of the Coast, for whom he does Magic the Gathering illustrations. Beyond that, I know little, as his website and blog are short on bio information.

His professional website is arranged as a blog, and the images are usually linked to larger versions. Unfortunately, the section marked “Process” isn’t filled out yet. I did find mention on his Prints and Originals page that he often starts pieces in a traditional medium like oil, scans the painting or sketch into the computer and does a finish in digital media.

His concept work frequently involves environments in which he makes great use of atmospheric effects and contrasts of scale.

Polenov focused on landscapes and religious scenes. He brought to to both a feeling of contemplative beauty, painted in the kind of direct painterly approach and atmosphere encouraged by plein air painting, and rendered in bright, almost impressionist level color. He was more directly influenced, though, by the Impressionist forerunners of the French Barbizon School.

Polenov’s religious paintings were based on visits to Palestine, and had a degree of realism and immediacy only granted by direct observation.

Polenov taught at the Moscow School of Painting and fellow Peredvizhniki Isaac Levitan and Emily Shanks and Russian Impressionist Konstantin Korovin were among his students. Polenov’s home in Borok has been made into the Polenov Museum.